Something Very Sad...

[prmenrs, RN]

I just read that Lynda VandeVanter died. She was 55, and may have died related to exposure to Agent Orange.

She wrote a truly unbelievable book about her experiences in Vietnam as an RN in the Army. Talk about your nightmare new grad job.

This book affected me deeply because there, but for the grace of God, went I. The Army would pay for your last year of nursing school, (even diploma programs like mine and hers), and give you a stipend in return for service after graduation. Their protocol was to take these YOUNG baby nurses, send them to OR school and ship 'em to Vietnam as fast as oossible.

Her book was titled Home Before Morning, and if you want to feel VERY sad, read it. What was even sadder was that, while the male vets were protesting, and generally make noise, the female vets were discriminated against even more. Even tho it's depressing, I highly recommend her book.

[Rav_810]

It's bad what has happened to a fellow nurse and human being.

May she rest in peace.

[SmilingBluEyes]

I will have to check out her book. Being a vet myself, I find it entirely believable how the Army used those nurses and discarded them w/the rest of the trash. It's a disgrace how all vets are treated, but this saddens my heart even more. She did her time on Earth...may she enjoy the Afterlife she so rightly deserves.